We have been playing around with cheeses and ice cream since Spring
of 2006 when we had our first milking does on the farm, (and our first
child - a week before our first goat kids). We have been selling milk
and cheese off of the farm since that summer. We decided to expand
and start converting our garage into a licensed dairy so we could
potentially sell commercially. There are many guidelines that must be
followed in order to become licensed. In July of 2007 our dairy facility
became officially state licensed.
All of our dairy products are made in our own facility. My husband
and I do all of the goat husbandry, milking, cheese making, ice cream
making so we feel confident in our quality of standards.
We are experimenting with a lot of other types of dairy products; hard
cheeses, ripened cheeses, yogurt, kefir for our personal use. It's hard to
stay focused on our products for sales when there are so many things to
do with goat milk!
A note on raw milk:
We feel very strongly about the benefits of raw milk. In our experience the raw milk doesn't spoil for a much longer period as
heat treated or pasteurized milk. Raw milk has an existing healthy flora that fights off the bad bacteria, compared to
pasteurized milk, which is a perfect open medium for harmful bacteria. We are extremely stringent with our cleaning and
milking practices. The laws in Maine allow farm's to sell raw milk, ice cream and cheeses that have been aged for more than 60
days. This is fortunate considering in many states, all raw milk products are completely banned for sale.
For more information see Realmilk.com
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Our Story
Howling Hill Farm consists of my husband, me and our 2 year old, plus our 2
dogs, a cat and our growing goat herd and some egg laying chickens. We had been
very interested in getting into farming for quite some time. Both of us grew up
in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but always enjoyed getting out of the city into
nature. So, after we graduated from college, my husband with a geography
degree and me with an environmental biology degree , we decided to get away
from it all and move to Maine. I had grown up vacationing in Maine, so always
had a special fondness for it.
Howling Hill Farm consists of my husband, me and our 2 year old, plus our 2
dogs, a cat and our growing goat herd and some egg laying chickens. We had been
very interested in getting into farming for quite some time. Both of us grew up
in the suburbs of Philadelphia, but always enjoyed getting out of the city into
nature. So, after we graduated from college, my husband with a geography
degree and me with an environmental biology degree , we decided to get away
from it all and move to Maine. I had grown up vacationing in Maine, so always
had a special fondness for it.
Several years after purchasing our house on 3 acres, we decided we wanted to try out
growing some more of our own food, and perhaps get in to market gardening . We
had several problems though. Our property, is very steep and rocky and 3 acres
isn't a whole lot of room in the farming sense. So we decided to get a few goats,
mostly for fun, since goats love hills. I guess it also stemmed from my love of
cheese. All along we continued working and our house is quite far from much of
anything. Considering we are about 30 minutes from the closest grocery store and
over an hour to work, we started to get tired of the lack of time we had at home
doing the things we loved. The American Dream, to have a job that you have a
passion for, not just work and something you dread. This prompted us to begin
seriously experimenting with our milk and growing our herd. Having such a small
property and venturing into this type of business may seem crazy, but it has been
done, and will push us to keep our methods sustainable and our business small and
local.
growing some more of our own food, and perhaps get in to market gardening . We
had several problems though. Our property, is very steep and rocky and 3 acres
isn't a whole lot of room in the farming sense. So we decided to get a few goats,
mostly for fun, since goats love hills. I guess it also stemmed from my love of
cheese. All along we continued working and our house is quite far from much of
anything. Considering we are about 30 minutes from the closest grocery store and
over an hour to work, we started to get tired of the lack of time we had at home
doing the things we loved. The American Dream, to have a job that you have a
passion for, not just work and something you dread. This prompted us to begin
seriously experimenting with our milk and growing our herd. Having such a small
property and venturing into this type of business may seem crazy, but it has been
done, and will push us to keep our methods sustainable and our business small and
local.
Our goats live in a 18 X 20 log cabin, made of trees, cedar and spruce,
from our property. They were hand stripped with a spudder, cut and
stacked using only a chainsaw. The spaces are filled in with cement.
This building although rustic has worked out well, and cost us close to
nothing. This summer we have added a buck barn (pic on left).
from our property. They were hand stripped with a spudder, cut and
stacked using only a chainsaw. The spaces are filled in with cement.
This building although rustic has worked out well, and cost us close to
nothing. This summer we have added a buck barn (pic on left).
Our son after a morning milking
Howling Hill Farm Merlin
Buck barn
